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Weekend Herb Blogging #30 RecapStill Discovering New Plants!

The weather in Salt Lake has been amazing and on Saturday I decided working in the garden had to take priority to posting on the blog or cooking. I'm trying to get a lot done this weekend, because next weekend I'll be traveling again, going to Washington D.C. to visit a good friend. I love D.C. and always enjoy visiting there. I used to go there four times every year for meetings when I was on the NEA Board of Directors, which is the governing board for the biggest teacher's union in the U.S.

Since I'll be away, you won't hear back from me if you send something for Weekend Herb Blogging during the week next week, but I should be home early on Sunday in time to do the recap. (Check the Weekend Herb Blogging Archives if you need more information about the event.) The wonderful Ilva and Cate have both offered to cover WHB for me if I can't do it some week, but I am waiting until I'll be completely away all weekend to take them up on their offer.

Now on to this week's offerings, which contained some interesting new plants, something that always delights me. I'm sure you'll find something of interest too.

Belmont, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Beyond Salmon is a captivating blog, written by Helen, who is a great source of information about fish. But recently, when Helen took on the subject of Frequently Asked Questions About Herbs, it was a post that was perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging. Helen covers how to wash herbs, how to keep them fresh, the difference between "hard" and "soft" herbs (her terms, but very descriptive), and what to do with herb leftovers.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
A new herb blogger, Nandita from Saffron Trail, sent a fascinating post about the ridge gourd, the plants which are used to make loofahs when they are dried. Nandita creates a wonderful sounding South Indian chutney called Peerkangai Thuvaiyal from her ridge gourds.
Trinidad, California, U.S.A.
Christine from Christine Cooks sent three posts this week, first a mystery herb (which I couldn't guess), and second a beautiful rose. The third post featured a great sounding round up of recipes, including one for Chicken with Honey Tangerine Sauce that really caught my eye.
Kronshagen, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
This week Ulrike from Kuchenlatein is featuring rhubarb, including a photo of some healthy looking rhubarb in her garden which is still too small to be picked. Not to worry because Ulrike visited the farmers market to get the rhubarb for her delightful sounding White Chocolate Panna Cotta and Rhubarb Compote.
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.Plant Sale Soup is the subject of the post from Alanna from A Veggie Venture. It seems this delightful soup, chock full of herbs, and of course veggies, is something the leader of the local herb society makes every year to sustain volunteers at the annual plant sale. What a fun tradition.

Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy
I'm always excited when someone comes up with a new plant that no one has blogged about before (something that's getting harder to do now that we are in week thirty!). This week the lovely Ilva writes about Agretti, something I've never seen or heard of, a type of succulent plant that is unusual even in Italy. She uses it to make Frittata con Agretti or Frittata with Agretti, which looks fantastic like all her food.

Milan, ItalyAsparagus Quiche is the offering this week from Piperita from the lovely blog, A Kitchen Pantry. I love her use of ricotta in the quiche filling, and I'm encouraging her to send this recipe for Asparagus Aspirations so Kevin can record it in his online archives of asparagus recipes.

Davis, California, U.S.A.
Over at What Did You Eat, Sher is still able to produce great food and photograph it even when she has had her eyes dilated! Some people just have talent. This week she shares a great recipe for Green Cilantro Chutney which I can't wait to try. (Coincidentally, this week I got an e-mail asking me if I had a recipe for Cilantro chutney, and another herb blogger also featured it! I call that the universe responding to what I need.)
Farmgirl's Farm, Missouri, U.S.A.
Just in case you didn't realize how wonderful things are on Susan's farm, this week she is writing about volunteer arugula, which I think sounds like one of the best things that could happen to a person. In case you are not into gardening, "volunteers" are the plants that come up the next year from seeds which are dropped. Don't miss this post, full of tips for growing great salad greens.

Istanbul, Turkey
From one of the places in the world I most want to visit, Isil from Veggie Way is back and this week she's writing about an herb that's brand new to me. Resembling parsley, this plant which is called Corky-Fruited Water Dropwort, botanical name oenanthe pimpinelloides or Kazayagi in Turkish, was used to make a delicious sounding Lentil Soup with Corky-Fruited Water Dropwort.

Toronto, Canada
At Once Upon a Feast, Ruth is cooking for company again, and her menu of Moroccan Style Meatballs, Simple Steamed Quinoa, and Sauteed Baby Spinach sounds wonderful. These dishes are South Beach Diet friendly too, for those who are interested.
New Delhi, India
Another plant that's brand new to me comes from Sury at (Lima) Beans and Delhi Cha(a)t, a blog she co-writes with someone for Lima, Peru, hence the interesting name. Bilwa, or Bel Fruit is memory-filled for Sury, and she shares how she ate it as a child. Now she uses it to make Beler Pana or Bel Lassi, Bel drink with yogurt, which does sound wonderfully refreshing for a summertime drink.
Texas, U.S.A.
Heather from Heather's Space has two posts in one this week. First, she shows off some lovely African Violets which I didn't get in time for last week's Recap. This week things in her garden are looking good, with Salad Burnett, strawberries, and a hibiscus in bloom.

Sandy Hook, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Sarah from Cucina Bella had cooked some beets this week and wondered what was new and unusual that she could make from the beet greens. I love her idea of using them to make Beet Greens Bruschetta, combining the beets with basil and parmesan. (By the way, could one of you who speak Italian leave a comment about the correct pronunciation of Bruschetta. I'm never sure about it.)

New Jersey, U.S.A.
Our second post about Cilantro Chutney comes from Ramya at Cooking Within My Grasp. She shares a lot of good information about how to store coriander plants and the medicinal benefits of the plant, as well as her very authentic sounding recipe.
San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S.A.
To be able to pick salad every day is the goal of Jeanne from Uncle Tom's Garden, and she is well on her way with her first crop of lettuce ready to pick. Jeanne also shows off lovely edible flowers and a recipe for Rasberry Vinaigrette using Penzey's Rasberry Enlightenment, a product I've been curious about.
Southern California, U.S.A.
This week Surfindaave from The Serendipitous Chef is getting seriously into flower power. Dave experimented with squash blossoms and edible arugula and Daiukon blossoms, stuffing the squash, and tempura frying blossoms for a garnish for a wonderful sounding salad.
Astoria, New York, U.S.A.
Over at Just Braise, Stacey has invented a new sandwich, which just may catch on like the BLT did. Stacey's sandwich is called the FBS, which stands for French toast, Bacon, and Strawberry. I love Stacey's idea of mixing in basil with the strawberry for a little extra complexity of flavor.Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.My own veggie blogging efforts this week focused on hearts of palm, something I've always loved to eat. First I made my version of Rich Salad from the Silver Spoon. Then I had some leftover basil vinaigrette begging to be transformed into something delicious so I created Tomatoes, Hearts of Palm, Olives, and Feta with Basil Vinaigrette. Both of these salads were total keepers to me. I guess I better stock up on the hearts of palm from Costco in case they quit carrying them.

That's all the herb blogging this week. I'm heading off to Washington D.C. in a few days, so posting may be a little light around here, although I'm leaving some things for my brother to post for me. I've been working in the garden a lot of the weekend, so I sure haven't been cooking as much as usual. Hope everyone else has been having a nice weekend.

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